8 of Cups

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Feb 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Alice23	10 Feb 2005
Hi, I drew the eight of cups as todays card, and its one that's always intrigued me, from the figure in the Rider Waite deck, it looks like the figure has made the choice to walk away from the past, go in search of the world and new things/experiences - what does everybody else think about its meaning? Alice x

temperlyne	10 Feb 2005
To me the the 8 of cups stands for outgrowing something. Something used to fit, it used to be comfortable but you've outgrown it and need to leave it behind in order to allow yourself to grow. A bit like hermit lobsters who outgrow their shells. The shell offers them comfort and protection, but it doesn't grow as they do and needs to be replaced once in a while.

Fulgour	10 Feb 2005
"Don't be Pigeonholed!" is the way I will often read this. After you've given until it hurts, take time for yourself.

huredriel	10 Feb 2005
How about - running away from your emotions?

Fulgour	10 Feb 2005
huredriel wrote: How about - running away from your emotions? Or getting away from people who never give, but always, always, always want more, more.

catti	10 Feb 2005
the figure makes a choice to leave the cups behind ( sentiments) and turns toward an unknown path. in the six of swords you feel like the figures in the boat are fleeing but the eight of cups i feel is about choosing to leave emotion behind in search of deeper meaning. Emotion is something that can blind you and bias you when it comes to making decisions. So often this card will fit in with a moving on theme. I think that perhaps in the future the figure will become the Hermit in the mountains.

huredriel	10 Feb 2005
Fulgour wrote: Or getting away from people who never give, but always, always, always want more, more. Yes Fulgour, fleeing is the word I associate with this card (but then I only have the one deck).

Grizabella	10 Feb 2005
What I notice in my RW and Universal Waite is that there seems to be one cup missing in the top row. To me that could mean that he's found that all his emotional issues have still resulted in something being missing, so he's gotten those affairs in order and is going off to still seek what's missing from that aspect of his life.

Michelle	10 Feb 2005
Time for a respite. A need to get away from the grind of daily life. Looking for a deeper meaning in life.

caridwen	10 Feb 2005
I always view the six as a rather sad and weary card because of the face on the moon or is it the sun? ( I think it may be an eclipse), the pose of the figure and the fact that it's night. It's come up for me at times when I was clinging onto something fruitlessly and I just had to give it up and move on. For me it ties in with The Hermit, Death and the Six of Swords. It's usually something I've invested a lot of time and emotion in, a relationship or project I put a lot into, so turning my back on it was hard even though I knew that is what I had to do. The fact that he's off to search for knowledge could mean he senses something missing in his life - there's a gap between the cups as though there's something for him to fill. He can't build up his cups properly unless he finds that missing element so he may be some time searching. But it's well worth the struggle when you see the next card!:)

Thirteen	10 Feb 2005
Lyric wrote: What I notice in my RW and Universal Waite is that there seems to be one cup missing in the top row. To me that could mean that he's found that all his emotional issues have still resulted in something being missing, so he's gotten those affairs in order and is going off to still seek what's missing from that aspect of his life. NICE thought, Lyric! I like this. To me, 8/Cups indicates one of the hardest, but most essential choices a person has to make. Leaving what is not only comfortable and established (family, friends, home) but loved in order to finally go after one's deepest dreams. I see it almost as a "last chance" card; young or old, if you decide not to go, there probably won't be another opportunity to follow that dream. Sometimes these dreams are more illusion than reality and you could be leaving behind what you love--and what loves you--to no good purpose. And likely, when you tell friends and family what you plan to do ("I'm going to move to a shack in the desert and write poetry!"), they're going to call you crazy and advise against it; whatever that moon wants you to do, it's not rational or pragmatic. But in a way, it's better to follow the dream; It's ironic, but I think those who remain with the cups never sate their real thirst. No matter how hard or ridiculous, no matter if you fail or succeed, you have to take that chance.

AmyV	10 Feb 2005
I see this card as following an inner call to find more in your life; the eight cups would represent what the guy already has, the emotional lessons he has learned or the emotional foundation he has built - but the moon is moving over the sun and he seems to be looking up towards it - the voice of his intuition is overriding (or has overridden - we don't know if the moon is moving on or back off) everyday 'reason' and urging him to go in search of something, something more..... what that is, he can only find out by setting out to look for it.... To me there are elements of the Two of Wands - where the guy (he must be a Gemini!) is feeling hedged in by his success and feels the urge to go out exploring again - and Judgement, and the Hermit too

firemaiden	10 Feb 2005
AmyV, I see it as an inner call too. In previous threads we have noticed that if you look at the RWS version of the card in a strange way, you might see an illusion of the hermit coming from the darkness to enfold this solitary travelor in his cloak. When I look at these cards as steps on an enlightenment journey I see this as a turn inward, maybe a turn toward the "dark night of the soul", maybe a Dante's voyage, a turning inward to listen to the inner truth/justice (after all the card is an eight -- Justice) (unless you go with Justice is XI, but I believe Waite switched VIII and XI on purpose to keep certain things secret, and that we are meant to switch them back. )

Alice23	12 Feb 2005
Hi all, thanks for your replies......has been very interesting reading them - can understand the card a lot better now than before, and can also relate the card to aspects of my life, especially in pursuit of a dream and taking the road thats probably much more uncertain. Thanks again! Alice x

Eulypian	12 Feb 2005
I call the 8 of Cups Searching and view it as the need for emotional structure.

MercyMe	12 Feb 2005
The 8 of cups always seems to me like a less urgent Hermit. Sometimes it signifies that (usually) passing feeling we sometimes get to toss it all and run away to Tahiti or just anywhere else to be alone. Sometimes it can signify a need for just some down time alone, or a new course of study along spiritual lines that one does on one's own, or maybe a good long soak in the tub alone with one's thoughts. Because it is Minor Arcana, it doesn't have the force behind it that The Hermit does. Although the image on RW type cards does seem dramatic, I'm not sure it IS all that dramatic a decision or life change. I think maybe if it was, you'd draw The Hermit for that. Or maybe it signifies *thinking* about retreat and going off to find one's "missing cup" but not yet actually doing it. The eclipse is significant in that if one's light (intuition) is darkened or blocked, you may not get too far. However, it's not as if you can simply stay in the stagnant waters either. Something has to change. Eclipses are temporary, so you can count on the light emerging...but maybe if you had stayed to see your cups after the light reemerges, things might look vastly different, too. That's why I think it's a pondering card more than a stronger impulse card. You're thinking of leaving, but you're not sure. Things feel and look stagnant and you know you need *something* but you're not sure what and you're not really sure if going away will yield the results you want. So think about it. If you really do need to set off alone, The Hermit will come and guide you with his lamp. ~Mercy

Sulis	13 Feb 2005
Take what you can from a situation and move on. Love Sulis xx

The 8 of Cups thread was originally posted on 10 Feb 2005 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.